Give it a Listen Episode 374 of LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast features a discussion with government relations director Laura Schreiber about how the organization’s priorities fared during the legislative session. ♦ ♦ ♦ As I write this, the regular session of the 2025 Minnesota Legislature wrapped up with some unfinished business, which means… Read More →
For longer than I can remember, my family has taken the same route from our farm in southeast Minnesota to visit my grandparents in north-central Wisconsin. The first leg of the four-hour trip takes us across the Mississippi River and through the farmland, pastures and rolling, wooded hills of Trempealeau and Jackson Counties. The landmarks… Read More →
Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Morris-Based Mega-Dairy Coming Closer to Reality with Key Regulatory Ruling (6/7/26) The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) will not require an environmental impact statement for an expansion that would create the largest dairy CAFO in Minnesota, reports the Minnesota Reformer. Highlights: Riverview wants to expand a… Read More →
Sign Up for E-mail Delivery of The Land Line Opinion: Huge Dairy Operations Change the Fabric of Farm Country (5/28/26) Dairy farmer Duane Holker writes in the Minnesota Star Tribune that plans to build the largest dairy operation in Minnesota are a threat to producers like himself, as well as rural communities in general. Highlights:… Read More →
Ka Tia is seeking 3 acres (an acre each of tillable, pasture and forest) in Wisconsin near the border of Minnesota or Washington County, MN. No housing is necessary. Ka Tia would raise 20 chickens and plant some vegetables for her family. Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is applauding the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) recent announcement that it will be seeking public input on the socioeconomic impact of large-scale dairies in the state. Information will be gathered through two virtual meetings (noon to 1 p.m., and 7:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) on Tuesday, July 28, as… Read More →
Smaller doesn’t always mean simpler. Consider Cella Langer and Emmet Fisher’s foray into being a Grade A micro-dairy — one that produces, processes, packages, markets, and sells pasteurized milk and yogurt. In a state that has lost 40,000 dairy farms in the past four decades, they are a tiny push in the opposite direction. How… Read More →
MORRIS, Minn. — Building a community-based infrastructure that is centered around local farmers producing food for local markets is a significant challenge in a region dominated by an export-driven corn and soybean system, but there are signs of progress being made in the Upper Minnesota River Valley, said participants in a Land Stewardship Project (LSP)… Read More →
When it comes to introducing and supporting innovative sustainable farming practices, nothing beats a field day. Such events provide an opportunity for farmers to see firsthand how profitable, environmentally sound production practices are performing on their neighbor’s land under climatic, agronomic and economic conditions they can relate to. Studies have shown that while sustainable farming… Read More →
Farmers Focus on Local Markets (1/31/26) The Tri-State Neighbor reports on a meeting in Rochester, Minn., where farmers and others gathered to discuss practical ways of diversifying the corn-soybean duo-culture that dominates Midwestern agriculture. Highlights: The “Beyond Exports” meeting, which was hosted by LSP, featured farmer-presenters who are in various stages of utilizing small grains,… Read More →
